Here’s the last post on the funeral rites in the original 1989 OCF book. In some instances, the Church cannot celebrate a funeral Mass–we’ve discussed those reasons before. Sometimes it may be fruitful to offer Holy Communion outside of Mass to those who have gathered.

OCF 409 gives the invitation to Communion in the usual words, “This is the Lamb of God …” and the rubric indicates people “then receive communion in the usual way.”

OCF 410 gives six options for a Prayer after Communion: two for outside the Easter season, one for during, two for a baptized child, and one for a child who died before baptism.

Only eleven more posts are planned in this series, and these will cover cremation.

about Todd Flowerday

A Roman Catholic lay person, married (since 1996), with one adopted child (since 2001). I serve in worship and spiritual life in a midwestern university parish.

about John Donaghy

John is a lay missionary since 2007 with a parish in western Honduras. Before that he served in campus ministry and social justice ministry in Iowa. His ministry blog is http://hermanojuancito.blogspot.com

He also blogs reflections on the lectionary and saints/heroes/events of the date at http://walktheway.wordpress.com

He'll be a long-term contributor here analyzing the Latin American bishops' document from their 2007 Aparecida Conference.